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Ryan TolmichApr 3, 2025AnalysisT. RodmanUSAFEATURESWOMEN'S FOOTBALLUSA vs BrazilBrazilFriendliesWashington SpiritNWSL

'I can't be the Trinity I was at the Olympics' - Rodman's back may never be 100 percent, but Emma Hayes and USWNT thrilled to have her 'unbelievable qualities' back in the lineup

The scintillating 22-year-old USWNT star is dealing with a new reality with her health, but Rodman's return makes the team better

Trinity Rodman, at just 22, has shown she can create great pain for those that line up against her. Rodman, at just 22, also knows that she'll be dealing with her own sort of pain the rest of her career.

Anyone who has watched her on the pitch knows that there's magic at Rodman's feet, often happening at lightning pace. Rodman is special and, when she's playing, special things tend to happen. Let this week's revelation, then, serve as a reminder that sometimes life isn't always fair - even for the most special of talents.

Ahead of her long-awaited U.S. women's national team return - her first since helping Emma Hayes' squad with the gold medal at last summer's Paris Olympics - Rodman admitted that the back injury that's been plaguing her since 2021 will never be completely healed. There's a very real chance we have already seen the healthiest version of her.

Yes, she'll continue to improve as a player. Yes, she'll learn to manage the pain. Yes, the technical gifts will catch up to and even surpass some of the physical ones. Physically, though, Rodman, in her own words, will never again "be 100 percent."

That's the reality for the USWNT - although they'll still be building around her for the next decade, if all goes to plan. That's the reality for fans, who may need to temper expectations when it comes to Rodman's fitness and availability. And, most of all, that's the reality for Rodman, who will seemingly be dealing with back pain for the rest of her career.

That's the glass half empty, though, and when it comes to players such as Rodman, there's little time to dwell on the negatives. Her return is massive as the USWNT prepare for two friendlies against Brazil - Saturday in Los Angeles and next Tuesday in San Jose - and it's one that she seems to be relishing.

Rodman and the USWNT are set to take their next step into this new era together. Fully fit, or mostly fit, or somewhere on that spectrum, Rodman makes the USWNT better. And the hope is that these upcoming games can serve as a reminder of exactly who Rodman can be, even with a new reality.

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    A long-awaited return

    On the first day of USWNT camp, the team posted a video of captain Lindsey Heaps walking into training, a big smile on her face.

    "Look who's back!" she said, pointing to Rodman next to her. Trinity, in turn, replied, "It's me!"

    Rodman's return is the story of the week, as she rejoins the national team for the first time since the 2024 Olympics. It was during that tournament that she, alongside "Triple Espresso" members Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, reached icon status.

    Rodman netted three goals while adding an assist in Paris, contributing a goal in each of her first four appearances in France en route to a gold medal. That included the winner in the quarterfinal against Japan - the team that beat a Rodman-less USWNT in February's SheBelieves Cup finale.

    Like Rodman, the rest of Triple Espresso has been out of action for some time. Wilson is taking time away due to her pregnancy, while Swanson, too, has been away from the team for personal reasons.

    Rodman is back, though, providing a jolt to the USWNT attack. It has largely done well without her as young stars such as Alyssa Thompson and Ally Sentnor have come into their own post-Olympics. Even so, there's no one in this pool quite like Rodman, which is why Heaps is so damn excited to see her.

    "I'm very, very happy to have Trin back," Heaps said. "I think we all are. I think her presence, on and off the field, is just different. You get another voice in there, another enthusiastic voice, someone that brings energy on and off the field. That's something that you want because it's a domino effect.

    "It helps us, particularly with a lot of new young players here. They want to see that and they want to feel that. She's young, too, so they get to see it first-hand from someone like her - who also brings a load of confidence - which, at her age, is so crucial in this environment."

    Rodman's road back hasn't been easy, though. She's had to confront some tough realities along the way.

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    Rodman's injury issues

    It was disconcerting for any fans of the USWNT, and for fans of the sport in general. In a NWSL game last September, Rodman was forced out of the Washington Spirit's 3-0 loss to the KC Current. She couldn't leave under her own power. Rodman, the USWNT 22-year-old prodigy, left the field in a wheelchair.

    It wasn't her first back injury and, as it turned out, it wouldn't be one she would recover from easily. The issue in September was described as an "intense back spasm" but Rodman confirmed that there are greater issues at play. She didn't look quite like herself on the Spirit's road to the NWSL final, and the club has been careful to manage her to start this 2025 NWSL season.

    "Honestly, I don't know if my back will ever be 100 percent," Rodman said this week. "It's kind of an issue where it's not one specific thing. It's just the way my back is structured and it's more so management than a curable fix. I think we've managed it really well and I'm happy with the progression that we've had, but I don't think my back will ever be the way it was my rookie year, which is unfortunate."

    Even as Rodman's career is just getting started, she now knows that she'll have to adjust to that reality, both physically and mentally.

    "It's tough for me coming off such a good season and the Olympics and then going into an injury and now trying to find my place again and find my role and rhythm," she admitted. "I think having such an incline of momentum of going and going and going and then getting injured to where it's like 'Am I starting again?' Because you can't just get right back into it.

    "It's been the mental battle of 'I can't be the Trinity I was at the Olympics' now coming back from injury, so I'm trying to play the role as best as I can and still be effective in a different way as I build back up into it."

    Building up is, as she said, a process, and USWNT boss Emma Hayes knows that as well as anyone.

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    Managing her minutes

    During her time managing at Chelsea, Hayes was tasked with the rehabilitation of one of American soccer's top stars: Catarina Macario. For several years, the midfielder/forward was sidelined with injuries. It took careful planning to get her back to where she needed to be and now, finally, Macario is healthy enough to be a USWNT contributor again.

    Rodman's situation wouldn't seem to be that dire. She can clearly play through her back issues and, as she said, she's learning how to best manage the pain. Hayes, though, intends to be cautious - which means we may not see Rodman fully unleashed in these games against Brazil.

    "She's had an ongoing back complaint," Hayes said in a news conference. "And she's on the right road to that, but it can be easy to trigger it... So I have to try and find the sweet spot in camp to reintegrate her back into the team and also manage her, because she has a long season ahead."

    Even former USMNT stars Tim Howard and Landon Donovan expressed concern about Rodman's revelation, and the need to exercise caution when it comes to managing her playing time.

    “This is a problem because, with a lot of things that you have to manage in your career injury-wise, a back is not a good one," Donovan said on the duo's podcast. "Because there are just a lot of things that can go wrong, so I do worry a little bit about that with her. And hopefully she has the awareness and the people around to make sure... that you’re managing it right so she can play."

    Howard praised Rodman's electric skills, saying, “She’s got brilliant pace, really strong, obviously great tight feet in and around the penalty area. But, like, ultimately it’s her explosiveness that gets her off the mark. Hopefully, she can manage that and we don’t see any sort of demise, because she’s absolutely sensational to watch."

    Rodman has played in each of the Spirit's first three regular-season matches, but only made her first start last weekend against Bay FC. In total, she's played 120 minutes across those three games. At this point in both the season and the USWNT's World Cup cycle, there's no real reason to risk her - no matter how enticing that may seem. Heaps has been impressed during the few training sessions the USWNT.

    "For her to come back from the injuries that she's had and to train like she's been here for the last eight months," Heaps said, "that's really exciting for me."

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    Getting Rodman going

    The benefits of having Rodman on the squad are twofold. As Heaps said, she brings a different level of enthusiasm to the group, one that is already rubbing off on those that hadn't played with her at the Olympics.

    "I'm super happy for her to be after battling back from an injury," said defender Emily Sams, who did battle with Rodman and the Spirit last season during the Orlando Pride's title run. "I'm just happy to see her back here and smiling. She seems to be having a great time just being back here."

    More importantly, though, there's the soccer side. What makes Triple Espresso so dangerous is the pure speed at which they can play - and that's not just physical speed. All three move and interpret the game at a breakneck pace and all three know their roles well.

    Rodman's job has generally been to stretch defenses and give defenders hell when she gets them 1v1. It's something Hayes' USWNT leaned on heavily last summer.

    "When we face the Spirit, we have to be on our A-game," Sams said of playing against Rodman. "It's a 1v1 battle on the wing so, whoever's playing outside back, you just have to be fully prepared for that and do pretty much anything you can to slow her down.

    "In the final, you saw Kerry Abello and her going at it all game. You just have to try and do anything you can to slow her down. She's obviously so good, so, yeah, it's a nice change to be on the same side as her for this camp."

    And even at less than 100 percent, Rodman's scintillating skills will always be problematic for defenders.

    "As a midfielder, with any of our attacking players, they make it a lot easier for us," Heaps said, "because, when it doubt, you know you can get the ball into space and they will go at defenses and make it impossible to win the ball from them. There's such an attacking threat and unbelievable qualities that they all have. But, obviously, Trin has her own and she's very, very unique in the type of player she is."

    It's been too long since Rodman wore that USWNT kit, too long since the game has seen that unique ability on display at the international level. There are still some questions about what her best will look like - and how often she'll be able to reach it - but Hayes and the USWNT will have time before the 2027 World Cup to figure that out.

    For now, when she someone exclaims "Look who's back!" Rodman can happily say, "It's me!"